Avon County Rowing Club is one of the three clubs based at the Saltford Rowing Centre, along with the University of Bristol and Monkton Combe School. The stretch of the River Avon they row on is roughly 4km long, stretching between the Weston Lock in Bath and the Saltford Marina, and is also shared with Bath University and Minerva Bath Rowing Club.
The Saltford Rowing Centre opened in 2015, after a £1.2m project to improve the on-site facilities available to the three clubs. Each of the three now has dedicated boat bays along with a small shared land training space, changing rooms and a social space. This has allowed the three clubs to operate in harmony and expand to where they are today. ACRC’s fleet is made up mainly of older boats which are suitable for a variety of different crews. It is a priority for this community rowing club that everyone has suitable equipment, meaning it has not followed the lead of many other clubs in purchasing purely racing shells.
The club caters for rowing at all levels, although it must be said the most sighted crews taking to the water are the Juniors and the Masters. The Junior squad is teaming with keen beginners, who will often be seen out in force at the weekends. With a more recreational culture, rowers tend to race locally in the South-West rather than venturing to national level competitions such as National Schools’, at events such as ACRC’s own Autumn and Spring Heads. Occasionally this squad will benefit from some paid coaches, however normally as with the rest of the club volunteers are depended on to coach the rowers.
The Men’s and Women’s squads can also be seen out in force at the weekends, with some crews electing to row during the week, which tend to be those more concerned with racing and being competitive. Those who fit between these age groups seem to migrate towards either Bath or Bristol for more serious and competitive rowing, but this does not detract from the presence of ACRC at all.
Avon County has a friendly atmosphere, generated by its members’ appreciation of the sport and enjoyment of it from a more recreational perspective. While the club tends not to perform at a high level, its members get stuck in to the rowing community, with several of them taking on roles regionally with British Rowing. The club is without doubt a family club, as the junior and masters squads dominate its membership. As the oldest club on the Bath-Saltford stretch, Avon County’s members seem to be the go-to for local knowledge and fact finding. No doubt this will continue as the club will remain a friendly and consistent presence on the River Avon well into the future.
Want to find out more about Avon County Rowing Club? Check out their website.
Interested in joining? Contact them here.
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Cover image via Avon County Rowing Club
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